Shoe for foot-operation of a drum kit bass drum (kick) as well as a shoe for foot-operation of a drum kit hi-hat

ABSTRACT

To improve playing feel, a shoe (i) for foot operation of a bass drum in a drum kit has a reinforcement ( 6 ) and an abrasion protection ( 7 ) for the shoe upper ( 3 ), with the reinforcement ( 6 ) being arranged in the region of the toe joints in the position of use and the abrasion protection ( 7 ) being arranged in the region of the big toe in the position of use. A shoe ( 10 ) for foot operation of a hi-hat in a drum kit is characterized in that the shoe ( 10 ) has a convexly curved roll-off face ( 16 ) in the rear heel region, with the roll-off face ( 16 ) extending into the region below the foot in the position of use in order to assist the roll-off movement when playing the hi-hat.

The invention relates to a shoe for foot-operation of a drum kit bass drum as well as to a shoe for foot-operation of a drum kit hi-hat.

In prior art, there is footwear adapted for special applications. E.g., in many industrial settings, safety shoes are used, featuring a protective steel cap in the toe in order to protect the foot from injuries. Furthermore we know especially adapted footwear for use in certain sports. E.g., specific athletic shoes, cycling shoes, riding shoes or boots, ballet shoes as well as a large number of other shoes or boots have been especially developed and employed for their particular function.

Nevertheless, no specific footwear for playing or operating a musical instrument has been known to date. For a large number of musical instruments, there is no need for specifically designed footwear as these instruments are not operated by foot. When playing a drum kit, however, one needs to operate at least the so-called bass drum and one of the cymbals, the so-called hi-hat, with the feet. That is why these parts of a drum kit possess pedal-operated footplates which are used to play these drumming instruments.

Many musical styles require a proper foot motion control when being played on the aforementioned drum kit instruments, as well as a sufficient “sense of touch” for the instrument, especially for sophisticated accentuation. This requirement is also known as “playing feel”. Especially when playing the bass drum, a drummer executes both single and double beats with his feet, for which he needs to act out an especially sophisticated course of motion.

Conventional shoes are not suitable for this as they do not deliver proper control of the instrument, and accordingly no sufficient playing feel. Although it is known that specifically thin athletic shoes are utilized for playing a drum kit, these shoes usually wear out very fast due to the high load they are exposed to.

The invention is based upon the object to provide a shoe for foot-operation of a drum kit bass drum and for foot-operation of a drum kit hi-hat which on the one hand will deliver a good playing feel and on the other hand will be extraordinarily durable.

The object is solved by a shoe for foot-operation of a bass drum according to claim 1, a shoe for foot-operation of a hi-hat according to claim 11 and a pair of shoes for foot-operation of a drum kit according to claim 17. The dependent claims refer to preferred embodiments of the invention.

According to the present invention, the shoe for foot operation of a bass drum consists of a sole and a shoe upper, the latter featuring a reinforcement which, in the position of use, is arranged in the region of the toe joints. At this, sole and shoe upper are formed in a way to guarantee a good playing feel. Even though sole and shoe upper should assure a safe foothold, they have to be flexible enough to allow a simple course of motion and particularly a slight bending of the foot and the shoe. Within the framework of the present invention, “Position of use” is defined as the shoe's position clothing a foot when worn by a user.

In order to assure improved wear resistance of the shoe as defined by the invention, the shoe upper features a reinforcement which, in the position of use, is arranged in the region of the toe joints. Within the framework of the present invention, “Toe joints” are defined as those joints that connect the toe limbs with their corresponding metatarsal bones. In this region, high loads emerge when the foot and the shoe are bent down while operating the bass drum pedal. The reinforcement should thus be designed in such a manner that on the one hand damages to the shoe and shoe upper are avoided, but that on the other hand there is no negative impact on the playing feel. Preferably, the reinforcement should comprise flexibility similar to that of the shoe upper. Particularly preferably, the reinforcement consists mainly of plastic, leather, artificial leather or textile materials.

Due to the mentioned bending of foot and shoe when operating the drum pedal, e.g. by using the so-called “Heel-up technique”, the hallux (big toe) regularly bounces against the inner side of the shoe upper during the course of motion. According to the present invention, the shoe upper features an abrasion protection which is arranged, in the position of use, in the region of the hallux in order to reduce the abrasion occurring in this part.

Similarly to the aforementioned reinforcement, the abrasion protection can be made of leather, textiles, foam or a combination of these materials. Naturally, the abrasion protection should be dimensioned in such a way that the courses of motion that take place while playing the bass drum are not constricted and thus the playing feel is hindered in the least possible manner. Preferably, the abrasion protection is arranged on the inner side of the shoe upper in order to further improve the wear resistance and at the same time provide a better visual appearance of the shoe. Particularly preferably, the abrasion protection should be arranged on the shoe upper in the region above the hallux in the position of use.

The shoe upper of the shoe defined by the invention is preferentially built in such a way that it supports the necessary good playing feel by providing the flexibility according thereto. At this, the flexibility of the shoe upper's material should be adapted as far as possible to the flexibility of the sole. Furthermore, the shoe upper should be designed in such a way that it is wear-resistant. E.g. leather or artificial leather can be implanted for the shoe upper. When using leather, an outstanding flexibility can be obtained by choosing the leather type (e.g. calf leather or sheep skin) and by tanning. When using artificial leather, the material can be built in a particularly soft and flexible way by choosing the thickness, flexibilizers or by foaming it in the way explained above. Adequate materials are e.g. polyurethane (PU) or polyvinyl chloride (PVC), coated natural fiber textiles or synthetic fibers.

Particularly it is preferable that the shoe upper mainly consist of canvas. Canvas is a firm cotton fabric that reaches a high wear resistance due to a special weave. Moreover canvas is characterized in that it is particularly wear-resistant and that it provides an extremely good playing feel through a very high flexibility. A shoe like this provides a particularly “soft” feel in the position of use.

The sole can be made of vulcanized rubber, for example. At this, the suchlike rubber can be made correspondingly soft via the reaction conditions during the production, like temperature and additives (like e.g. sulfur). Nevertheless it is preferable that the sole consist of plastic. By using plastic the shoe can be built at a particularly low cost. At this, a good flexibility of the sole can be reached by adding flexibilizers, like e.g. esters, or by foaming correspondingly. Adequate plastics are especially polyurethane (PU), polyester and polyether. It is particularly preferable that the sole feature a thickness between two and five millimeters and be designed flexible.

The use of plastics particularly permits to adapt the sole's hardness and bending stiffness according to the respective requirements.

In order to further enhance the shoe's flexibility, a possibly existent insole, say a circular reinforcement above the treadsole, can be designed in such a way that a high flexibility of the shoe is given. At this, the insole can be designed flexible, too, with a corresponding choice of materials. On the other hand, the insole could feature cut-outs in order to assure a higher flexibility.

Due to the bending of the forefoot when operating the bass drum pedal, the highest load is suffered by the shoe upper in the junction area between shoe upper and sole. Therefore in this region of the shoe upper material fatigue and corresponding fissuring occur very soon. It is hence preferable that the reinforcement be arranged in the junction area between shoe upper and sole.

Thus, in the position of use, the junction area between shoe upper and sole in the region of the toe joints is located on the right and on the left of the foot in the region of the toe joints, thus approximately on the right and on the left of the ball of the foot. The reinforcement can be built in such a way that it covers the junction area between shoe upper and sole, but it is also possible that the reinforcement only covers the shoe upper and adjoins the junction of the shoe upper and the sole. In either case, the reinforcement should be designed as small as possible in order to hinder the playing feel in the least possible manner. Due to the fact that the highest loads occur, because of the bending of the forefoot, on that side of the shoe that adjoins the hallux in the position of use, the reinforcement should preferably be arranged on that side of the shoe.

According to a further development of the invention, the reinforcement is designed either as consisting of one or of many pieces and is arranged at least in the two junction areas that are opposed to each other on the centre-line. Within the framework of the present invention, “centre-line” is defined as the center axis along the longest side of the shoe.

By using a suchlike arrangement, the wear-resistance is further improved by the fact that the opposing junction areas between shoe upper and sole—in the position of use either on the right or on the left of the foot—are reinforced. The reinforcement, on the one hand, can be built as one single piece, e.g. shaped accordingly as a strip. But it is also possible that the reinforcement is built as several pieces, e.g. as two pieces arranged on the two opposing junction areas between shoe upper and sole. Also in this case, of course, the reinforcement should be arranged in the region where the foot and accordingly the shoe is bent when operating the drum pedal.

According to a further development of the invention, the bending forces that occur in the shoe upper when the shoe is used are bearable by the reinforcement. Thus, the reinforcement should bear the forces occurring when the foot is bent and thereby take the pressure off of the shoe upper material. This way, the invention design results particularly advantageous as the wear of the shoe upper is reduced further. Particularly preferably the reinforcement is elastic. A suchlike design can support the foot movement advantageously when the bass drum is operated.

In order to improve the playing feel further, it is preferable that the shoe be cut out deeply in the ankle region. Particularly preferably the cut-out should cover fifty percents of the region between sole and the upper edge of the shoe upper. At this, the term “upper edge” is defined as the maximal extension of the shoe upper in one direction at right angle to the sole level.

Usually the bass drum of a drum kit is operated with the right foot, which is why it is preferable that the shoe be designed for an arrangement on a right foot. But for special applications, it is also possible to design the shoe for an arrangement on a left foot. This can be particularly practical for those users who cannot use their left foot for operating the bass drum.

According to an advantageous invention design, the sole features several regions with different bending stiffness. At this, in the position of use, a front region of the sole comprises less bending stiffness than a region in the rear. A suchlike sole improves the playing feel even more. A great number of drummers plays the bass drum using the so called “heel up technique”. At this, only the front part of the foot is in contact with the bass drum pedal. Therefore a lesser bending stiffness in the front part allows a slight bending to the top, but also a slight lateral bending that is relevant for a positive playing feel during the so called “sliding” on the pedal.

The higher bending stiffness in the rear area of the shoe is particularly advantageous with the so called “splash technique” because it allows a direct responsiveness of the pedal wherein, due to the hardness of the sole guaranteed by the elevated bending stiffness, the whole energy of the impact flows into the operation of the pedal. Naturally it is possible and by no means excluded that the sole features more regions of different bending stiffness.

The front part should practically cover the front end of the shoe up to the region of the toe joints, the rear area reaching from the calcaneus to the rear end of the shoe.

A sole design featuring several regions can be obtained by e.g. employing different materials or material alloys or by employing plastic materials with plastics of different density and structure. It is also possible to use inlays in order to obtain the bending stiffness respectively hardness desired. At this, the front part should preferably possess a bending stiffness respectively hardness in the range of 55 Shore A maximum, in particular of 50 Shore A maximum, particularly preferably of 45 Shore A maximum. The bending stiffness respectively hardness of the rear area is in each case higher than in the front part. Preferably the hardness should be greater than 70 Shore A, particularly preferably greater than 75 Shore A. The hardness of a middle part of the sole can range at 60 Shore A, e.g. At this, the density of the sole material should be picked as low as possible in order to design the shoe the most lightweight possible.

According to a further development of the invention, in the position of use, the sole features no or only a very slight profile in the toe region, say at least in the region of the toe joints, as also in the region of the calcaneus in order to support sliding movements of the foot on the pedal during the foot-operation. In these regions, which are in significant contact with the pedal when the drums are played, a certain “sliding” has proven to be advantageous. Therefore these regions should allow the foot to slide on the pedal. In the middle part of the sole however a profile can be arranged in order to guarantee a sufficient foothold when walking.

A shoe for foot-operation of a drum kit hi-hat with a sole is characterized in that the shoe has a convexly curved roll-off face in the rear heel region. The convexly curved roll-off face improves the course of motion in the foot-operation of the hi-hat. In a usual way of playing, the foot lies on the whole face of the pedal connected to the hi-hat. In order to open the hi-hat the foot strikes with the heel and rolls off from there in an ascending direction towards the forefoot. When a rhythmic figure is played by opening and closing the hi-hat, the foot rolls off from the rear edge of the heel to the tip of the foot and back. Thanks to the convexly curved design of the roll-off face this course of motion is supported. At this, the curve of the roll-off face should be adapted to the course of motion that takes place when opening and closing the hi-hat.

According to the present invention the roll-off face extends to the region underneath the foot in order to further support the roll-off movement taking place when the hi-hat is played. Thus, when the hi-hat pedal is operated, a supporting point for the foot's turning movement in the region of the calcaneus is created around a pressure point. At this it is particularly preferable that the roll-off face be arranged in the region where the calcaneus is lying and that it extend to the rear end of the shoe.

With a suchlike arrangement, the roll-off angle should be picked preferably small so that the shoe offers a sufficient foothold for normal walking. Within the framework of the present invention, “roll-off angle” is defined as that angle that exists between the sole of the shoe according to the invention with the foot bent down and the pedal in full operation and the sole with the foot lifted up and lying on the pedal yet not operating it. The roll-off angle should range particularly preferably between 10° and 3°.

The sole should be flexible, as mentioned at the beginning for the shoe for foot-operation of the bass drum, and can be made of vulcanized rubber or preferably of a polyurethane, polyester and polyether. The roll-off face is made preferably of a hard plastic. Suchlike hard plastics are available industrially and can normally be adapted easily by adequate dead-mold casting. Preferably, the roll-off face should mainly feature no profile or only a slight profile in order to further support the course of motion.

Preferably, the sole is designed with several regions of different bending stiffness, whereat in the position of use, a front region of the sole comprises less bending stiffness than a rear region.

Conveniently, in the position of use, the sole has basically no profile in the region of the toes, at least in the region of the toe joints, and in the region of the calcaneus, in order to support a desired sliding when the pedal is played.

According to a preferable further development of the invention, the roll-off face is arranged as one single piece together with the sole. This way the production of the shoe according to present invention can be simplified further and the cost of production is reduced. Furthermore, no selvedge can appear in the transition region between sole and a separately built roll-off face, whereby the playing feel would be affected negatively. It is possible to shape the roll-off face directly when shaping the sole. Alternatively it is also possible to shape the roll-off face by shape-cutting the sole.

It is also preferable that the shoe be cut out deeply in the ankle area in order to further improve the playing feel. The cut-out should mainly cover more than fifty percents of the region between sole and the upper edge of the shoe upper.

Usually the hi-hat of a drum kit is operated with the left foot. It is therefore preferable that the shoe be designed for an arrangement on a left foot. In special cases it is also possible, that the shoe, as explained above, is designed for an arrangement on a right foot.

A pair of shoes for foot-operation of a drum kit is made of a shoe for foot-operation of the bass drum and a shoe for foot-operation of the hi-hat. At this, the shoes are designed as described as aforesaid. By nature it is possible that the pair of shoes is made of different preferable models or that shoes of the pair are designed for both applications respectively.

The invention is described hereafter on the basis of examples carrying out the invention according to what is shown by the following figures:

FIG. 1 a lateral view of an embodiment of the shoe according to the present invention

-   -   i. for foot-operation of the bass drum

FIG. 2 a top view of the embodiment in FIG. 1

FIG. 3 an embodiment of the shoe according to the present invention for foot-

-   -   i. operation of the hi-hat

FIG. 4 an embodiment of an initial sole design in a perspective view and

FIG. 5 an embodiment of a secondary sole design in a perspective view

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the shoe 1 according to the present invention for foot-operation of the bass drum in a drum kit in a perspective view. Shoe 1 consists of a sole 2 and a shoe upper 3, which are sewn or glued to each other respectively. Sole 2 consists of rubber in order to assure a good foothold of shoe 1 on a bass drum pedal. Shoe upper 3 consists of a canvas made of a firm cotton fabric. For this reason, shoe 1 possesses a high wear-resistance, a nice playing feel being provided at the same. Shoe 1 is attached firmly to the user's foot with a common lacing 4. In order to further improve the playing feel, shoe 1 features a deep cut-out 5 in the ankle area. As can be seen in FIG. 1, cut-out 5 mainly reaches half way between the upper edge of shoe upper 3 and sole 2.

In order to design shoe 1 particularly wear-resistant, a reinforcement 6 is arranged on the left and on the right side of shoe 1 in the junction area between shoe upper 3 and sole 2, as can bee seen especially in FIG. 2. The top view of FIG. 2 shows, that reinforcement 6 is made of two pieces. Alongside the centre-line of shoe 1, reinforcement 6 is mainly arranged between the respective toes and the respective metatarsal bone of the toe limbs. When operating the bass drum pedal, especially in this area the foot and with this also the shoe 1 are bent. Particularly for this reason, reinforcement 6 is advantageous in this area. Reinforcement 6 is made of leather and is sewn onto shoe 1. Furthermore, an abrasion protection 7 is arranged in the region of the hallux, in order to further elevate the wear-resistance of shoe 1 during the aforementioned course of motion and the hallux movement going along with it. Abrasion protection 7 is arranged on the outside here, but can also be arranged on the inside.

An example carrying out shoe 10 according to the present invention for foot-operation of the hi-hat in a drum kit is shown in a lateral view in FIG. 3. Shoe 10 for foot-operation of the hi-hat in a drum kit also features a sole 12 and a shoe upper 13. Sole 12 once again is made of rubber, shoe upper 13 also consists of a canvas made of cotton fabric. Shoe 10 can be attached to the user's foot with a common lacing 14. Furthermore, shoe 10 according to the present invention comprises a cut-out in ankle area 15, which also, as can be seen in FIG. 3, reaches mainly half way between sole 12 and an upper edge of shoe upper 13. Due to the special movement, shoe 10 for foot-operation of the hi-hat comprises a roll-off face 16. This roll-off face 16 is designed as one piece together with sole 12 and covers the heel zone of shoe 10. Roll-off face 16 is preferably designed without profile. This special arrangement allows a good roll-up movement of the foot when playing the hi-hat.

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of an initial sole design in a perspective view, suitable for both the bass drum shoe and the hi-hat shoe. Sole 2 a features three areas, namely front area 41, middle area 42 and rear area 43. Sole 2 a consists of a polyurethane, as e.g. polyester. At this, front part 41 and rear area 43 are designed without profile, in order to allow a sliding movement of the foot when operating the pedal. Middle part 42 however comprises a profile, in order to assure a sufficient foothold when walking. The profile at hand consists of protruding linear elements in a zig-zag-pattern. It is also possible to design the profile differently, e.g. rhombic cut-outs are just as suitable. When choosing the profile, it should be kept in mind that slipping is avoided when walking on wet or slippery surfaces.

Front part 41 of sole 2 a features an extensive inlay 45 made of a material of little hardness. Here, sole 2 a consists of a polyether with a hardness of 60 Shore A. Inlay 45 however consists of a polyurethane with a hardness of 45 Shore A, as e.g. a polyether, to allow a slight bending of the foot and also a lateral movement during the foot-operation, whereby a better playing feel is obtained especially in the heel up technique. In order to still allow a sliding of the foot on the pedal, the surfaces of sole 2 a and inlay 45 form a basically plane face.

Rear area 43 consists of a polyurethane with a bending stiffness or a hardness of 75 Shore A, e.g. of a polyether, to allow a direct responsiveness of the pedal to the impact of the heel, e.g. in the so called “splash technique”. Rear area 43 can also form a plane face together with the surface of sole 2 a (as shown), it is also possible that rear area 43 is designed protrudingly as shoe heel.

Both inlay 45 and rear area 43 can be built directly during the shaping of sole 2 a. e.g. by injection, but it is also possible to delete the sole material in these parts and to replace it with material possessing the hardness desired.

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of a sole 2 b for use both on the bass drum shoe and on the hi-hat shoe. Similarly to the embodiment in FIG. 4 a middle area 52 comprises a zig-zag-profile. Also, the surfaces of a front area 51 and a rear area 53 are designed plane. Front area 51 however features a high number of inlays 55.

The bending stiffness respectively hardness of sole 2 b is 60 Shore A. In the embodiment at hand, sole 2 b is formed of a polyurethane, like e.g. of a polyether. The inlays 55 are made of a polyurethane, like e.g. of a polyether, made with a hardness of about 45 Shore A, rear area 53 is made of a polyurethane, like e.g. of a polyether with a hardness of 75 Shore A. The surfaces of the inlays 55 form a face together with the surface of sole 2 b.

The arrangement of the inlays 55 produces a further improved bending and lateral movement during foot-operation of the pedal. In order to reach a different hardness of front area 51, it is possible, by nature and if required, to vary the arrangement of the inlays 55 or of the material used for them. 

1-17. (canceled)
 18. Shoe for foot-operation of a drum kit bass drum, with a sole and a shoe upper, characterized in that the shoe upper comprises a reinforcement and an abrasion protection, wherein the reinforcement is arranged, in the position of use, in the region of the toe joints and the abrasion protection is arranged, in the position of use, in the region of the hallux.
 19. Shoe according to claim 18, characterized in that the reinforcement is arranged between shoe upper and sole.
 20. Shoe according to claim 19, characterized in that the reinforcement is designed as one piece or several pieces and is arranged at least on both those junction areas that are opposed to each other on the centre-line between shoe upper and sole.
 21. Shoe according to claim 18, characterized in that the reinforcement is designed in such a way that the bending forces that occur in the shoe upper during the use of the shoe are borne by the reinforcement.
 22. Shoe according to claim 18, characterized in that the reinforcement is elastic.
 23. Shoe according to claim 18, characterized in that the reinforcement is made of leather, textiles, foam or a combination of these materials.
 24. Shoe according to claim 18, characterized in that the abrasion protection is arranged on the inner side of the shoe upper.
 25. Shoe according to claim 18, characterized by that the shoe is designed for arrangement on a right foot.
 26. Shoe according to claim 18, characterized in that the sole comprises several areas of different bending stiffness, wherein, in the position of use, a front area of the sole comprises less bending stiffness than a rear area.
 27. Shoe according to claim 18, characterized in that the sole, in the position of use, comprises basically no profile in the region of the toes as in the region of the calcaneus, in order to support a sliding during foot-operation.
 28. Shoe for foot-operation of a drum kit hi-hat, with a sole, characterized in that the shoe features a convexly curved roll-off face in the rear heel region, wherein the roll-off face, in the position of use, reaches into the area underneath the foot in order to support the roll-up movement when the hi-hat is played.
 29. Shoe according to claim 28, characterized in that the roll-off face is made of a hard plastic.
 30. Shoe according to claim 28, characterized in that the roll-off face is designed as one piece together with the sole.
 31. Shoe according to claim 28, characterized in that the shoe is designed for arrangement on a left foot.
 32. Shoe according to claim 28, characterized in that the sole comprises several areas of different bending stiffness, wherein, in the position of use, a front area of the sole comprises less bending stiffness than a rear area.
 33. Shoe according to claim 28, characterized in that the sole, in the position of use, comprises basically no profile in the region of the toes as in the region of the calcaneus, in order to support a sliding during foot-operation.
 34. Pair of shoes for foot-operation of a drum kit, comprising one shoe according to claim 18 and one shoe according to claim
 28. 